Mondays - yeah, not many positive things to really say about Mondays in general. I get my weekends off so for me, Mondays are truly Mondays. Work is busier than normal, home life is busier than normal since the kids are coming home from school, and chores and my kids' friends knocking on the door every 5 minutes (sometimes ringing the doorbell until sometimes I wish it would zap the little buggers and they'd run away)...and studying is like trying to pull a lion's tooth. Not fun. Not at all.
Today was one of those days. I got super frustrated with the fact that the lack of quiet was really distracting and, since I'm studying College Algebra, I found myself sucked back in time to a desk at my grandpa's house. I was probably 10 years old and I was crying over my paper as a gold desk lamp shined down on my work. I always felt like Math was the worst possible thing I could ever do in the entire universe. (That was before I discovered laundry, paying bills and working a full-time job).  It was difficult for me to comprehend and it wasn't hard for me to give up on a problem quickly.
These days, Math comes really easily. So far I have a 4.0 GPA and I am enjoying having it. But this unit we are doing...I don't know what it is about it that my brain cannot comprehend, but it just pulls me back to that little girl at the desk with the gold lamp.
I had to get away today. I didn't really have time to take away from studying but I knew if I didn't, I was either going to give up, or just let the information float around in my head without making any sense.

So, I went running.
I ran on a gravel path not far from my house. It was a pretty warm day today and the sun felt good. It was nice. I ran and I kinda lost myself. It's been a long time since I did that. And it's been a long time since I've run so much. Today I did my fastest mile...11:18. The important part wasn't that I only went 11:18 but that I challenged myself to break through a small wall, and I did it. I haven't been a runner in almost a year and if you are a runner, you find out quickly that if you don't stick with it, you lose a lot of ground. Well, I lost a lot of ground, but today I gained a little bit back, too. I cleared my head, exceeded a goal, and when I came back home to sit and concentrate on my work, it FINALLY all started to sink in.

For me, running is therapy.
It's gotten me through a pretty rough patch last year...it's helped me lose almost 40 lbs and it's done wonders for my self confidence. I never thought I could achieve running THREE 5k races, plus countless other small personal achievements. If you're interested in running, just get out there and do it. You don't have to be fast, you don't have to run far, you really don't even have to run - just walk. But deciding to find something that moves you can not only change your body shape, it can change your mind and spirit.
Happy Running!